Author: Wendell Barnhouse

FORT WORTH, Texas – No drama. Just a dream realized, and a program revived. At 5:13 p.m. CDT, what was already official became real. The NCAA bracket reveal on TBS, a tricked-up dog and pony show, revealed the 68 teams in alphabetical order. TCU, in that format, had to wait. But it had been 20…

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Godding up coaches is a dangerous endeavor. They all have their human foibles and failures. At the high end of the profession, they’re paid millions of dollars to coach sports and win games. Those citizens of earth who are not interested in the perspiring arts think its silly that the Belichicks…

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The dream of the Big 12 Conference placing 90 percent of its teams in the NCAA Tournament quite likely died during Thursday’s quarterfinals of the conference tournament. Three teams on the bubble lost when they needed to win. Oklahoma State couldn’t beat top-seeded Kansas for a third time, Baylor couldn’t prevent…

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Some folks wear their hearts on their sleeve. Donovan Jackson wears his on his shoes. Jackson’s shoes are eye-catching because each is a different color. But the footwear is also a message board for his feelings – “everything I do is for you,” “2-17-18,” “I love you” and “RIP, Dad.” On…

FRISCO, Texas — Judy MacLeod will be the ring master for a two-ring circus that will have a four-day run here at the Ford Center. Conference USA will stage its men’s and women’s basketball tournaments concurrently at The Ford Center – the name for the Dallas Cowboys’ indoor practice field, a 12,000-seat venue. On Wednesday and…

Four days and 11 games at the Sprint Center in Kansas City. That’s the typical schedule for the Big 12 Championship that decides the conference’s automatic bid for the NCAA Tournament. To paraphrase the catch phrase of another Power League (which just happens to be holding its basketball event across I-70 in St. Louis): It…

LUBBOCK, Texas – The word of the day was displayed on the white board in the visitor’s locker room at United Supermarkets Arena. History. It was underlined three times for emphasis. But that’s 11 times fewer than what the word represented. Kansas assured itself at least a share of the Big 12 Conference regular-season title…

LUBBOCK, Texas – Greetings from United Supermarkets Arena … because, yes, Texas Tech has a corporate sponsor for its basketball arena. It will be site for arguably the most significant game in school history when the sixth-ranked Red Raiders take on No. 8 Kansas with the Big 12 regular-season title at stake. According to Vivid…

Jay Bilas is a former Duke player and assistant coach. He’s also a lawyer, which means there are three reasons to strongly dislike him. The ESPN college basketball analyst often has an “of course I’m right” smugness when weighing in on hoops issues. But you’ve gotta love a talking head who is outspoken when calling…

You can ask Charlie Strong if the patience of Texas fans exceeds three seasons. Shaka Smart is fortunate he’s the school’s basketball coach. Year Three of the Smart Era and Longhorns hoops resembles UT football – talented enough to tease but not please (three league losses in OT). Following Monday night’s 74-73 double overtime loss…

Let’s just call it what it will be – Freaky February. The first Saturday of the calendar’s shortest month brought blue-blood losses by Kansas, Duke and Kentucky – all to unranked teams. The last time that happened was Feb. 15, 1969. Add in Arizona’s loss at Washington and it was the first time those four…

Forty years and 1,166 games as a basketball coach can extract a physical toll. As Indiana Jones said, it’s not the years, it’s the mileage. Bob Huggins’ odometer reading led to having right hip replacement surgery in the summer of 2014. It was not the health scare of 2002 when he nearly died from a…

NORMAN, Okla. – When the clock clicked to triple zeroes and the scoreboard report was Oklahoma 85, Kansas 80, the ball was in Trae Young’s hands. Mr. Number One in usage rate, the ball is always in his hands, right? Near midcourt, the Sooners’ freshman spiked it emphatically and the apex nearly reached the scoreboard.…

We have reached the point of the Big 12 season where you must expect the unexpected but then you’re still surprised at the outcome. In truth, it happens every year when the calendar nears February. The league is as mysterious and hard to fathom as Forrest Gump’s box of chocolates. Night to night, game to…

Two weeks from reaching the halfway point of Big 12 play and it’s clear that the competition is as serious as a heart attack. And the games might actually cause some angina. Going into Monday’s games, 15 of 25 Big 12 games had been decided by six or fewer points. Five games had gone overtime…